Lobo: Nightside
by Two Words
Summary: An Ambassador of Twilight side story featuring Lobo, and his mission in the secret heart of London.
1. Welcome to the Nightside

The train raced along silently, save for the occasional pounding and scraping from outside. It's occupants were equally silent, which may or may not have been unusual given the train's destination. Most were likely unnerved by the sounds from outside. Neither the train nor its destination could be considered "normal" by any means. The train had no windows or any other means of viewing the outside of it. Which was a good thing considering the sounds some of the things out there were making.

The destination of this train wasn't something pleasant either. The location was an anomaly: The Nightside. Out of every universe, this was the only Nightside in existence. It connected to every other universe in a way no other place did. It was a massive, brilliant, cesspool which kept to itself. The place was unbelievably chaotic, so no doubt it would attract some... unfavourable people and things.

The Nightside was a very difficult place to get into. If it weren't, Lobo would've just dropped into the city like always. Well, almost like always. This mission had a few unusual circumstances. The first was that he was not traveling with the Ambassador of Twilight, Switch-Scythe. Being a Scythe-Wielder meant Switch held much more power than Lobo. Currently, the Ambassador was on a mission in a world that Lobo was incapable of visiting, as he contradicted the laws of that world. So he kept himself occupied by visiting worlds of his own while Switch was away. Reason number two was the nature of the Nightside. It was a very old, magical, and well-protected city. This prevented him from just dropping in, unless he wanted to use a Timeslip, and those are just too unpredictable.

So he was stuck on an uncomfortable train ride. The man sitting across from him kept eyeing him suspiciously. What was with him? Lobo gave a short warning growl and the man looked away quickly. Other than that man, no one really took an interest in him, an armoured Dire Wolf riding a train. Then again, standing not six feet from him was a strange squid-demon, everyone ignored him too. Must just be another day in the Nightside.

Lobo reflected on his mission quickly. An Agent of Chaos had recently made his way into the city. His job was to hunt down the Agent and deal with him. Preferably before he gets his hands on a powerful item. An Agent of Chaos in the Nightside, if left alone, would be very bad to everyone, just from the sheer amount of magic, powerful items, and powerful people there. Agents of Control, on the other hand, prefer to avoid the Nightside like they would the plague, seeing as how the place is almost uncontrollable. This was his first time being sent here. Agents never did last long, here in the Nightside. After all, it is the embodiment of the phrase, "There is always a bigger fish."

The train finally came to a halt. Everyone got up from their seats as if they were a single being, and turned to the now open doors. At this point, everything desolved into complete chaos, as everyone tried exiting at the same time. There were no regards for personal space, not even Lobo was spared this, which was unusual. The wolf forced his way through the crowds, adding to the anarchy. He did not really care though, as he had urgent business to attend to. He finally pushed past the doors, and was officially in the Nightside.

Lobo strode down the streets of the Nightside, carefully observing his surroundings. It is helpful to remember as much as he can, as it would prove useful later. Even after all of his research, this place was still quite amazing. The moon appeared very large in the sky, and there was an innumerable amount of stars, more than any other place he had visited. The place was well lit by gaudy neon signs, as it was always 3 AM here. Street vendors were out in full force, selling anything and everything, whether it worked or was irrelevant, as it was not the time for sightseeing. He had urgent business, and he was looking for one place in particular. The office of the Private Investigator John Taylor, the man who could find everything, for a price. His skills would be useful, if not necessary, for finding the Agent in this massive city within a city. He had no idea where the office was though, so he had to resort to asking for directions.

_Hey!_ he called out to a random bystander. His telepathy skidded uselessly off the man's mental barriers. Right, everyone had mental barriers here, those with an open mind often find it stolen.

_Hey! _he drove his telepathy like a wedge into the barrier, breaking through it and finally catching the attention of the man.

"What the hell!?" he exclaimed.

_I'm looking for John Taylor_, Lobo communicated.

"Get in the queue," the man responded, "and stop violating my mind! Just talk!"

_Look behind you_, Lobo instructed. The man complied, furious.

"Y-you're a wolf?" he stuttered, his anger swallowed immediately by fear.

_Obviously_, Lobo responded dryly.

"What do you want?"

_I have told you that already._

"How much are you willing to pay?" Lobo looked at the man as crossly as a wolf can manage, and launched a mental attack on him. The strike caught him off guard, shattered the remaining barriers, and pinned the man helplessly in place.

_Do you want me to repeat the question?_

"Alright, I'll tell you where you can find it." The man finally complied with his request, and gave Lobo the directions he needed. He released the man's mind when all was said and done, and the man retreated with astounding speed in the opposite direction. Now that his destination was known, it was time to set off. He also noted that people were giving him a wider berth on the streets.

Based on the research he had done, he knew that as he got closer to uncovering the whereabouts of the Agent, the more they would try to stop him. The ways they would attempt this would likely vary. Currently, he stood facing four thuggish looking people in robes, drawing sigils in the air and chanting. Word must travel fast if he already had enemies. The leader stepped forward and attempted to look intimidating, Lobo merelyt showed indifference.  
"You will leave the Nightside immediately," he threatened. So he decided to make his demands first, Lobo mused. Now he studied their mental barriers, would he be able to communicate at all...  
_I have very important business to attend to, and would rather not get covered in blood, please step aside_, the wolf let an unspoken threat hang in the air. So his words can get through after all.  
"We shall force you out then!" the thug gave a signal to attack. A massive and colourful display of powerful magics ensued. Yet not a single spell found Lobo. He didn't even blink, and just stood there solemnly. The thugs hesitated, wondering why their attacks weren't finding their mark. The leader pulled out a bone of some sort.  
_I don't do fetch or treats_, he remarked.  
"This is an Aboriginal Pointing Bone," the thug responded haughtily.  
_So?_ he was unamused. The thug leader responded by jabbing it in Lobo's direction and chanting something. Absolutely nothing happened. At this point the Dire Wolf decided he was done with them and leapt forward with impossible speed. Before any of the thugs could react, they had already been ripped apart by his powerful jaws. Unknown to the dead magicians strewn about, magic couldn't touch Lobo. He sniffed once, and continued on his way.

The building looming before him wasn't intimidating in any way. It wasn't even mildly impressive. This was supposed to be the office of the infamous John Taylor? Upon close inspection it became obvious that this building held several offices other than his. Strange. Oh well, he was here, now he just needed to recruit Taylor. He stepped up to the door. The door remained still. Well, this certainly slowed things down. The door swung open as a passerby stepped in. Lobo quickly slid in as well. From here in the lounge it was a straight shot to Taylor's office. His progress was quickly hindered by his mortal enemy, the door.  
Come to think of it, most people knock, Lobo realised. Being a wolf, the best way to go about this would be running into it. And that is precisely what he did. A loud metallic sound rang out once, twice, thrice in quick succession. The door swung open soon after. A human female peered out and visibly jumped at the sight of Lobo.  
"Can I help you?" she asked warily. Lobo tilted his head slightly and attempted to communicate.  
_Can you hear me?_ He projected, trying to get past the barriers while still leaving them intact.  
"So that's how you speak." she mused.  
_Yes, very intriguing. Anyway, I am here for John Taylor, I have a job for him._  
"I'm sorry, he's out at the moment on another job. You might be able to get a hold of him when he finishes though." she suggested.  
_Hmm_, Lobo frowned as best he could,_ If my business isn't finished in two days, I will return._ With that, he turned as he finished and trotted off, not bothering to listen anymore.

* * *

Hello everyone! I have returned in force to bring a story on everyone's favorite interdimensional Dire Wolf. And what's this? No Switch-Scythe? Well, during the events of this story, he is where Lobo can't reach, the Pokemon world. Before you complain, yes, I was given permission to write this. No, I do not own Lobo or the rest of TNS, and I also do not own the Nightside.

Next Chapter: Lobo finds his way around the crisis of the missing John Taylor.


	2. Making Unwilling Allies

This is a rather unfortunate turn of events, Lobo realized. Lacking John Taylor, locating the elusive Agent would be difficult, but hopefully not impossible. Now the question begging to be answered was, "where to search first?" The Street of Gods was out of the question. Agents tend to stay away from beings that powerful. Uptown might work, though it was not a priority. He could try contacting Julian Advent from the Night Times. The Collector also had plenty of powerful items an Agent would want. He wasn't sure where the Collector was though. The Authorities would be a good thing to look into as well, they had interest in protecting the status quo, which the Agent would ruin. Though one place held itself far above the others when you needed rumors. Every myth did have its base in truth, after all.

That was why he was currently standing inside Strangefellows, the self-proclaimed oldest bar in the world. All kinds of strange characters entered the bar at some point, and many of them could point him in an interesting direction. Whether they would speak to a wolf or not remains to be seen though. He carefully observed anyone who looked like they could be of use, and made a mental check next to each of them. One face in particular really stood out. Combined with an absolutely revolting stench that made Lobo wince, he was sure he knew who this was. The Punk God of the Straight Razor himself. Too bad Switch wasn't here, Lobo grinned, this was one of his favorite stories to tell.

Lobo stepped up to the lonesome god, trying his best to ignore his stench. The man was dressed in rags and covered in dirt. His smell was so terrible you could see it, and any flies that flew too close had a tendency to fall out of the sky dead. Razor Eddie slouched in his chair, and lazily glanced over to Lobo.  
"What do you want?" he asked, with a hint of annoyance.  
_You may not know me, but you do know my partner_, Lobo ignored his question, getting used to speaking through mental barriers.  
"And who would that be?" Not showing the slightest hint of worry.  
_Switch-Scythe_, the wolf said, ominously grinning. The Punk God froze for a moment, his eyes widening, before he caught himself and recomposed. That moment was all Lobo needed though. This was a story he knew well. The Punk God of the Straight Razor was dragged out of the Nightside once. He ended up meeting Switch somehow, and some unpleasantness occurred between them. That was all in the past, but it was very likely Razor Eddie still remembered Switch.  
"So what do you want with me?" Back to being indifferent.  
_I am searching for someone, and you are going to help.  
_"I never agreed to that," Lobo felt his annoyance growing.  
_You will help, and I won't bring Switch into this_, an empty threat, but Razor Eddie wouldn't know that. He sunk deep into thought.  
"Alright, I've got nothing better to do, so I'll help," trying to make it seem like he had a choice, how amusing. Turning, Lobo moved to question the others on his list.

Unfortunately, not a single one of his suspects could point him in the right direction. So where should he head to next? He wasn't sure how to contact the Authorities, so he would have to hope they would find him. Without a solid lead, Uptown would be like looking for a black cat in a coal cellar that may not actually be there. He also had no leads on the Collector, so that left one option. His next target would be Julian Advent then. He turned to Eddie, who stood still looking very bored.  
_Take me to Advent, he might be of some use._ Lobo communicated.  
"Alright," he responded passively, "this way." he began walking. Lobo followed.

* * *

"So," Razor Eddie began speaking at what Lobo assumed was the halfway point, "Who are you looking for anyway? And why?"  
_I am looking for an Agent of Chaos. _Lobo responded simply.  
"What?" A look of confusion crossed his face.  
_An Agent of Chaos, _Lobo repeated, _An Agent that serves Chaos. I can't allow him to remain here, or the balance of reality will shift dangerously.  
_"So, Chaos is your enemy?" he continued prying.  
_Yes, I serve the Twilight, which is dedicated to preserving the balance between Chaos and Control. _He was not used to giving this speech.  
"Huh," Eddie gave a look like he regretted his question.  
_It's best you don't think about it too hard. _Lobo saw a suspicious group up ahead. He sniffed the air, they had a reek of Chaos about them. They drew closer, and the suspicious group noticed them. He came to a stop, and suggested Eddie do the same. The group moved to them, the leader one step ahead.  
"You are to leave the Nightsi-" his voice died in his throat the moment he saw Razor Eddie. He hesitated for a moment, before continuing, "_Oh Christ, _we are not being paid enough for this shit!" He turned to his followers, "Run!" They all took off. Lobo gave Eddie a look that said, _don't bother, they're not worth it._ They started on their way again. Reputation is everything, in the Nightside.

"Here we are," Eddie grumbled, "Now if you don't need me I'll just-"  
_Not quite,_ Lobo cut him off, _you are still of use. _Eddie mumbled something in response, Lobo ignored it. Now came the biggest challenge of this trip, opening the door. _Open the door, Eddie,_ Lobo directed.  
"Why can't you do that?" he sulked. Lobo whipped his head around and glared. "Oh, right." he realized, and stepped forward to open the door. This wasn't necessary though, as just before he reached it, the door swung open with quite a force and a man barreled out. He barely managed to halt before crashing into Eddie.  
"Sorry," the man mumbled a hasty apology before turning to charge off to wherever he was going.  
"Not so fast," Eddie grabbed him by the collar, "We need to speak with you." Still holding the collar, he turned to Lobo, "Here's the man you wanted, I'm going now."  
"Wait, what?" the man Eddie claimed was Advent was completely lost.  
_You are staying until I say otherwise, _Lobo responded. He then turned to the man and began communicating again, _Are you Julian Advent?_  
"The one and only. Now if you don't mind, I have some urgent business to attend-"  
_I have some urgent business as well,_ he interrupted, _It probably has a higher priority than yours.  
_"That's unlikely."  
_Does your business threaten the balance of the world? The universe? Reality itself? If not, then it is not more urgent,_ he refuted. Julian had a difficult time finding a way to respond to that.  
"What do you want then?" he resorted to asking.  
_Information. I need to know about anything that even remotely damaged the status quo in any way, or more specifically, any chaotic way.  
_"Speak to my assistant," he turned away slightly, "Now if you'll excuse me," he took off running.  
_Wait! _Lobo called, _Who's your assistant!? _It was futile though, as Julian was already far out of range. He turned to Eddie, _Door._ Eddie didn't complain, not wanting to anger Lobo any more.

Inside the building was completely chaotic. People and things were rushing to and fro and yelling above each other. "Can I help you?" a voice sounded from Lobo's side. He almost jumped in spite of himself.  
_Yes, _he responded, noticing she didn't react to the fact he was a wolf. He hoped his words were getting across, _We are here for Advent's assistant. _She didn't react at all. He turned to Eddie and repeated himself.  
"Now I have to be your translator?" he grumbled before repeating the message.  
_Well, aren't we the pessimistic one, _Lobo remarked dryly.  
"And why do you need to speak to him?" she asked.  
_Advent directed us to him, saying he could help us with our problem, _Lobo responded. Eddie repeated the message.  
"Go straight down that way, he's on the left," she pointed.  
_Thank you, _Lobo dipped his head, then turned and trotted of in the instructed direction. Eddie mumbled a quick, "thanks" before hurrying off as well.

_Are you Julian Advent's assistant? _Lobo asked the moment he got there. The man he was addressing looked confused for a moment, and hesitated a moment before answering.  
"Yes," he spoke cautiously, "What do you need?"  
_We need information on every event that has affected the status quo recently.  
_"O-Okay," he was too used to taking orders, Lobo noted. He typed some things in on his computer, and brought up something. "This is the most recent event." He continued rambling, but Lobo drowned out his voice and skimmed over the article. This matched the actions of an Agent perfectly. He found his target, now was time for the hunt.  
_Where did this occur?_ He asked, pleased that his voice was getting through.  
"Um," he looked closely at it, "The Street of the Gods."

...

You have got to be kidding me, Lobo thought. That was precisely where he was certain they wouldn't be.

* * *

Chapter 2 complete! Next chapter will be longer and more epic, I promise.

Next Chapter: What happens on the Street of the Gods, stays on the Street of the Gods, hopefully.


	3. Chaos is Predictable

"What the hell happened!" Razor Eddie exclaimed. He and Lobo currently stood at the end of the Street of the Gods. It was an absolute wreck. Craters dotted the road, the buildings that were still standing were completely torn up, fires were everywhere, blood, guts, and slime covered the street and every wall, bodies were strewn about, and more than a few things looked like they were glowing. In short, the place looked like Switch had stormed through it.  
_If I didn't know any better I would say Switch was here._ Lobo responded after a short pause. He glanced down and studied some rubble at his feet, he gave it a small sniff. _It reeks of Chaos._ He turned to Eddie. _It was definitely here, and it pissed something off. Let's go find this thing._ He trotted off, listening for anything farther along the road. He heard sounds of a distant battle. That's where he was heading to. He glanced over to Eddie, who was obviously ready for battle, a look of determination on his face and his razor in hand.

After a decently long walk, they finally came to the area of turmoil. This area was far more destroyed than the rest. Several gods cowered behind large chunks of toppled building, flinging powerful magics down the street. Farther down, where the magic was being flung, was several more gods, engaging something in combat. Surrounding them, quite a few bodies lay strewn about. It was at this moment that the target of the gods' fury, picked up a large, red, vaguely humanoid figure, and slammed it into something gooey. Both were obliterated on impact. Beside Lobo, Razor Eddie tensed to leap forward.  
_Wait,_ Lobo cautioned, _I want to observe its actions_. Eddie grudgingly complied.

This time, a humanoid wielding a greatsword landed a tremendous blow on the target. The sword sunk up to its spine. The target looked down, and burst out laughing. This laughter continued for a bit, before its voice boomed out.  
"Fools! You can't hope to defeat me!" it taunted, still laughing, "But if that's how you want to play, I'm happy to oblige!" It ripped itself off the greatsword and jumped straight up and incredible height. It then proceeded to shoot down like a missile at the greatsword wielding humanoid. The impact sent the surrounding gods flying, and completely liquefied the humanoid. It turned to strike the next one, and froze in its tracks. Lobo watched a look of horror, quickly followed by anger, cross its face. "No! It's too soon!" it bellowed.  
_I think it senses me_, Lobo said to Eddie, _Let's go pay him a visit then._ He stepped forward, past the rubble, and stopped in front of the Agent.  
"You aren't supposed to be here yet! My minions were supposed to hold you off!" it was growing frantic.  
_Yes, well, one look at Eddie here sent them running._ Lobo responded.  
"Wait..." a look of contemplation crossed it's face, as if struck by an epiphany, "That dreaded Angel of Steel isn't with you."  
_He's busy,_ that remark probably was a lot more threatening than he first thought.  
"What!? So he doesn't think of me as a threat!" its indignation rose.  
_So little of a threat that he sent me alone._ That really set it off, as it was seething with rage now. _Your mood swings fast,_ Lobo remarked.  
"That's it! I'm going to kill you!" it lunged forward. Time slowed down considerably. Lobo leapt to the side and let the Agent fly past. Lobo took this moment to observe the surrounding area. Anything that could be used offensively or defensively he took note of. All of the gods appeared to be frozen in time, as he was moving at a speed which made it seem like time was standing still. This was a part of his training. He looked over to the Agent, who was recovering from its missed lunge. To his surprise, Lobo saw Eddie moving as well, though a bit more sluggishly. Nothing less was to be expected from the one who stood face-to-face with God's Wrath incarnate. Or did that not happen yet? Eddie slashed his razor across the Agent's face, catching it off guard. It yelped slightly, before kicking him through the next building. Then it turned to fight Lobo. It was too late though, Lobo had seized the opportunity. He tackled the Agent to the ground and put his mouth around its neck. The Agent put its hands inside his mouth and attempted to pry his jaws open, then unleashed a mighty kick to Lobo's belly, his armor protected him, mostly, but the force launched him off. He somehow managed to twist himself in the air and landed on his feet. To his side, Eddie emerged from the building that he was thrown through, which looked like it was collapsing. The Agent gave a cry of rage, and charged Lobo again. He feinted to one side, and dodged to the other just as the Agent's foot came up. _What is with this Agent and kicking?_ The thought ran through Lobo's head as he latched onto its ankle and gave a great yank. A sickening crunch vibrated through his teeth, and the Agent was launched into a nearby building. He quickly grabbed onto Eddie, who had just got out of the building, and leapt through the hole made by the Agent.

It was just starting to get up when Lobo and Eddie arrived. It stood, its foot bent at an awkward, and probably painful angle. The Agent wouldn't attempt anything in this state, it was waiting for its foot to heal first. Lobo noticed it slowly correcting itself. Looks like he would need to strike first. Just as he was about to lunge forward, it _shifted_. One moment it was vaguely humanoid, now it looked sort of like a six-legged, plate-scaled lizard. _ A shape-shifter... _Lobo noted, he hadn't seen one of those in a while. His moment of hesitation prompted the Agent to strike. It scuttled forward quickly and lunged for his leg. Knowing he couldn't dodge it, Lobo dropped down and let it hit his armor. It bounced off with a solid, metallic sound. Eddie seized this opportunity and slashed his razor down its back, leaving a huge gouge in spite of its plating. It screamed a few profanities, which no one heard, and turned to Eddie. Lobo shot back up and lunged. It sensed this movement and shifted again. Launching up into the air, it retracted two of its legs into its body and shot them out of the back as a pair of wings. It began soaring at this point. Eddie attempted to yell something to Lobo.  
_Think what you want to say loudly!_ Lobo ordered,_ We're moving too fast to hear!  
__"We're fighting a dragon now! What the bloody hell is with this thing!?"_ he obviously wasn't in a good mood.  
_I have an idea._ Lobo said. The Agent dove down and tackled Eddie, quickly retreating back into the sky. _This is going to hurt._ He braced himself.

One of the remaining buildings exploded. Its rubble sent flying from the force of Lobo launching himself through it. They all slowed down after a bit of distance though, until they all hung stationary in the air. _That... did not feel good at all._ Lobo thought to himself, _I can't keep up this for much longer, I need to finish this now._ He forced himself off the ground.  
_Eddie!_ he called out, the Agent too far to hear, _Use these!_ He gestured to the floating rubble. Eddie nodded in reply, and took off. The Agent came diving down again for Eddie. _You're far too predictable for an Agent of Chaos. _Lobo remarked. While it was preoccupied, Lobo leapt up the floating debris until he was positioned above where he thought the Agent would be soon enough. Eddie was struck, and sent tumbling into the center of the debris. The Agent lifted again, intending to retreat into the air again. Now was his chance! Lobo pushed off his perch with a mighty leap, and landed directly on the Agent's back. He bit down onto its neck, and crushed with as much force as he could. _Your predictability was your undoing! _The sound of the neck crunching vibrated his teeth. The Agent screamed. _You shouldn't have been so arrogant! _Lobo twisted his head and yanked, an even louder crunch vibrated. The screams increased. _What say you now, demon!? _They impacted the ground. The screams continued to grow. Lobo continued yanking with more and more force until finally, the head came off, and the screaming ceased. Eddie came over as quickly as he could. Time began resuming, a tremendous sonic boom struck, damaging the surrounding area and pushing the debris around, the rubble hanging in the air slowly fell down, and the damaged buildings slowly collapsed. Lobo let out a deep sigh, and got off the body of the Agent.  
_Cut the body into as many pieces as you can,_ he instructed, _I don't want him coming back_. Eddie nodded silently and got to work. The Agent's body slowly shifted during this, becoming a shapeless blob, its true form. Once he was done cutting, Eddie turned to Lobo.  
"Your armor is dented," he pointed out.  
_Just how hard did I hit that building? Anyway... __Thank you for your assistance,_ he lowered his head and lifted his paw in a bow, _I might not have managed this if you weren't here.  
_"That was... unbelievable, an I've seen things," Eddie remarked, "What are you?"  
_I am a wolf who works alongside the Scythe-Wielders,_ he answered, _Fighting this endless war, and keeping the balance in flux is my duty._ Eddie stared blankly, trying to comprehend that last sentence. Lobo looked around, and thought back to his research. If he remembered correctly... He thought about where he was in the timeline. Razor Eddie did cause a big fuss on the Street of the Gods around now. It seems he wouldn't have to restart the timeline after all.  
_Well then, don't tell anyone about this,_ Lobo warned Eddie, _and good luck in the future._ Lobo turned and trotted out of the Street of the Gods. His mission in the Nightside was now completed, in such a short time too. Well, Agents never did last long, here in the Nightside. Now was time to head back home. He wondered if Switch was back yet. Maybe he would have time for another mission. He paused for a moment, and turned around. Eddie was still nearby. That just saved him travelling time.

_Oh, and we will come calling for you soon. Your aide would help greatly._ With that, he turned and left the wonderful, and horrible city.


End file.
